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I have old topo maps I have used for years. I indicate where I've shot deer (missed too) and where I've seen good ones. I have kept a notebook for 40 years to refresh my memory on what all the dots & colors on the map mean. I also made general notes about what kind of year is...eg. a wet winter, condition of water supply at my camp location, other friends hunting with us, etc. Also how many deer we took and size. For about 20 years we took a 160# cotton scale into camp with us and weighed every deer we shot.

This record is of my families deer hunting in a wilderness area in the High Sierras in California we have hunted for over 60 years. We go to the same camp, use the same packer to get us & our gear into camp.

When I retired and moved to Colorado, I gave everything to my cousin who still runs the trip. I've been back once in 2003. Went then because my Dad wanted to go , said it was his last trip, as he was then 85. he said the 15 mile horseback ride was too hard. Tomorrow Dad celebrates his 94th year!

Colorado Cowboy
Cowboy Action Shooter; Endowment Life Member-NRA
The Original Rocket Scientist-Retired
"My Father always considered a walk in the mountains as the equivalent of church going."
Aldous Huxley

My system

To preface, 90% of my hunting is on limited entry hunts. I may only hunt that tag or unit once, so I am always gathering and organizing info on hunts I hope to hunt in the next 20 years.

My main tool is a Word document (nearly 700 pages...no you can't have a copy....lol). I organize info by state, then specie, then unit number, then the date of entry. For example:

Colorado:

Colorado: Elk: Unit 55:

2010: Joe the taxidermist in Gunnison told me there is a wedge of public land to hunt on the south end of NoName Ridge just above the ABC Ranch.

2011: Saw heard of 40 elk with two bulls on the south end of NoName Ridge at GPS coordinates (#####, ######)

Any time I learn ANYTHING of interest about a hunting unit, I type it in there. If run across a good post I cut and paste it in there. If someone tells me something about an area, I will email myself and cut it and paste it in there. I also insert photos of game for the unit, which helps me see what kind of genetics and trophy quality a unit has in it.

I also keep an Excel sheet of the very best GPS coordinates with notes of what was there (glassing spots, watering holes, game sightings, camping spots, etc.). Often these units I will never hunt again, and I can share the info with another hunter.

I have paper maps and Google Earth marked up extensively. I have started carrying my laptop in my pick-up on hunts and add new spots to it each day. That gives me a visual of what I am learning.

Finally, to plan my hunt applications, I keep an Excel document with all of the hunts I am applying for. It is organized by date (the date the applications are due or the date the draw comes out) so I can stay on top of my apps. I list each specific hunt I applying for, the points I have for that hunt, and the year I think I will draw (so I can plan hunts 5 to 10 years out). I also put in the draw odds on each hunt and have it calculate my overall draw odds in a given year so I can see if I will likely draw one tag (around 100% total of all the hunts applied for), or may draw too many tags (for example a 400% total means I'll likely draw 4 hunts), so I can make adjustments accordingly.

I keep notes when whitetail hunting and anything goes in there that I want. I like to write my thoughts and describe what happens while in the stand, what the day was like, what the squirrels did, unusual things, moon phases and things like that. I bought a write in the rain tablet suggested by Mike Eastman in one of his books. It is as much a journal/diary as notes (lots of notes too). It's fun to read some of the things i wrote two years ago or what I did on a particular day. Like why I missed the shot etc... Takes the edge off of a long day in the stand.

Umpqua, I tried to look up no name ridge and ABC ranch...no luck. I like your idea with Word and Excel. I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks, I'll do that. Talked to him on the phone and he sounded great. Leave Sunday. After 3 days with him and my sisters, then on to Yuma for a big invitational cowboy action shoot. 200 shooters, will be a blast! Was 2nd last year, should have won, but had a brain fart on one of the stages that cost me 5 secs. lost by 2 secs!!!

Colorado Cowboy
Cowboy Action Shooter; Endowment Life Member-NRA
The Original Rocket Scientist-Retired
"My Father always considered a walk in the mountains as the equivalent of church going."
Aldous Huxley